Optimal settings for ATI users with FSX - Great Results!

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Hello. Long time nVidia user here but I have been using ATI for a few years now and currently own a factory overclocked 2GB 6950 from HIS with great results. The last few nights I have been using FSX on another computer with a new 3GB 7950 from HIS. It worked fantastic as well. In both cases I am getting glass smooth framerates locked at 30 in ORBX scenery. On that note, occasionally I see posts from people not having the same luck and thought I would chime in on the best settings I have found for ATI in FSX after a few years experience.

These are MUST HAVE settings I would like to point out. Screenshots follow of these settings. With my 6950 I get fantastically smooth experience locked at 30 with Scenery Complexity set to Very high and Autogen to Dense. With the settings listed, I get no tearing, blurring, stutter or otherwise. I can go higher on autogen with the 7950 as well.

IN GAME SETTINGS

Lock Framerates at 30 (best practice)Do NOT check Anti-aliasing. (enabling AA in game produces stutters when SSAA is enabled in driver)Anisotropic must be enabled in game

IN ATI CCC DRIVER

Set AA to Override and AA to 4XFilter = Standard FilterMethod = Super Sampling or you will get hard to read gaugesAnisotrophic to 16XQuality set to High QualitySurface Format Optimization Off Or you will get shimmering bad (critical setting)Wait for Vertical Refresh OFF, unless application specifies

FSX CONFIG - The holy trinity.

Add these. This seems the best and cleanest from testing. I've tried allot of others to get same or degraded experience overall.

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If you do not know where to find the FSX.CFG file to add those three lines to the config, in Windows 7 it is right here...

C:\Users\*yourusername*\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\FSX

NOTE: to see that APPDATA folder you have to go to Folder Options in My Computer, Organize and Folder and Search Options... VIEW TAB and enable "Show Hidden Files, Folders and Drives". Or you will not see your APPDATA folder in the USER folder.

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Well. I don't have that airport or plane. But how about CYVR in ORBX PNW with the PMDG JS41? With my system set as I described in the guide. Here's some quick shots. No beauty shots. Just quick raw V Key capture, upload. Done. Please click the pictures as they are quite compressed in the browser. I would say I was averaging around 25 - 35. This was on the runway and then one on final doing the ILS to RW26L.

Like I said. No awards for composition here. Just snaps from the chair. I usually don't run UNLIMITED though. I lock 30 as that all but eliminates lagy texture loading. At least it seems to so I do it.

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I think the PMDG JS-41 + default Orbx CYVR hardly a 'frame killer' compare to my combinations of UK2000 EGLL + PMDG737. Wish I could compare unfortunately I don't have the same add on as you. What system you got btw?

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I think the PMDG JS-41 + default Orbx CYVR hardly a 'frame killer' compare to my combinations of UK2000 EGLL + PMDG737. Wish I could compare unfortunately I don't have the same add on as you. What system you got btw?

OK well the JS41 is the heaviest plane I have. It is by most account pretty close to the NGX in load. But whatever.

I have all of ORBX regions except for England and Wales.

I have about 10 ORBX airports in the NA regions and heaviest airport I own is KFSS from ORBX.

All I can promise is this though.

1. External Limiters cause ATI to stutter. (Don't use it)

2. Unlimited fps setting in cloud causes stutter. (Lock it)

3. Surface Format Optimization must be off to remove shimmer.

4. AA must be off in FSX but Ansio must be on.

As for your situation at that airport in that plane. Well. Not sure what to tell you. Get a GTX680 Super Clock or Factory overclocked ATI 7970? Get water cooling and take the CPU to 5Ghz? Don't know. If I had that stuff I would test it for you.

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That works fine on clear days but start to feel it over Portland in overcast weather. So I just leave it there. I'll give 12x Super Sample a try but this is asking for trouble trying to do an approach into ORBX KSFF or KSEA with some cloudy weather. I don't care what system a person has. LOL

I have witnessed the carnage on more powerful systems than my own. KSEA with the default with the Cold Fronts weather theme in the JS41 on an i7 3770 @ 4.6 with an overclocked GTX680 getting in the low 20's. ROFLMAO.

EDIT - I just tried 12X (Edge Detect Super Sample) and it dropped me from high 20's to low 20's while flightseeing around Portland ORBX Downtown area and landing KTTD. All in semi-cloud ceiling.

If I had a 7950 or 7970 I would use 12X. Monitoring the card GPU usage it climbed considerably with more clouds and that AA setting. Those newer cards would take it on no prob I would imagine.

Portland airports are fun. KPDX is a little heavy for me though. A 3770 at 4.6 and a 7970 would be the ultimate I think.

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Can you tell me how much fps do you get with PMDG737 at UK2000 EGLL? (If you have the add on) Otherwise, choose a fps hungry aircraft+airport. I am trying to compare my settings to yours.

I get around 24 fps base on above mentioned with below settings.

Do me a favor.

If you have ORBX PNW scenery, go do the ILS 34R or L at KSEA in your PMDG737. Make sure you have a nice cloudy ceiling. I'd like to see how your framerates do there. Is that a heavy-ish area for you? Seems it one of the worst I have seen. GTX680 equipped i7 3770 computers have trouble there.

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Thanks Charles for starting this topic and giving us some hopes of running ATI hardware with good results on FSX. Up to this point, all I saw was nVidia video cards were the only ones that worked.

I will be in the market for a video card shortly (currently running on the Intel i5 3570K OC to 4.4Ghz HD 4000 video) and this opens up some alternatives when I get to that point.

Just for information, my Orbix PNW is not yet reinstalled after updating the system 5 months ago but I do have UTXUsa and a freeware update for KSEA and get between 15 to 20 FPS on final to 16L.

Thanks again,

Fred.

Remember to disable some UTX stuff when you install ORBX PNW. You will have to Google UTX compatibility with ORBX to find the guides for that. I cant remember off hand. But there are some UTX things that will clash with ORBX PNW.

C.

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I think the PMDG JS-41 + default Orbx CYVR hardly a 'frame killer' compare to my combinations of UK2000 EGLL + PMDG737. Wish I could compare unfortunately I don't have the same add on as you. What system you got btw?

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Using your CCC settings and lock fps at 30. I loss about 6 fps at the same airport + aircraft with my system.

I can't stress my i7 2700K beyond 4.7ghz without bumping up the vcore to 1.40, which also stresses the temperature over 82 on Prime95 stress test.

So is UK2000 EGLL known as a difficult airport to render or something? Regardless I think you have a kick &amp;@(&#036;* system. i sure wish i had it. :-)

Obviously my settings are not for performance but for IQ, stutter prevention, shimmer prevention and decent AA. I certainly know there are a hand full of scenarios tha bring all systems to their knees as evidenced by Kostas benchmarks of the 580, 680 and Titan. He can't go over 2xSGSS in overcast clouds or from rates tank and this guy is an Nvidia tweak guru with FSX.

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